NBA: Houston Rockets VS Golden State Warriors Pick and Predictions 12/03/2022

Game: 8:40 PM ET,  Saturday, December 3rd, 2022

Venue: Chase Center, San Francisco, California

Where to Watch: NBA League Pass

Rockets: 6-16, 14th place Western Conference

Warriors: 12-11, 8th place Western Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Warriors -9.5, O/U 232.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Warriors -9.5, O/U 232.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Warriors -10, O/U 232

Rockets: PF Jabari Smith JR, SF Eric Gordon, C Alperen Sengun, PG Kevin Porter JR, SG Jalen Green

Warriors: SF Andrew Wiggins, PF Draymond Green, C Kevon Looney, SG Klay Thompson, PG Stephen Curry

A Western Conference NBA matchup between teams with very different goals for the season.  The Houston Rockets will never state it out loud… but their clear goal for the 2022-23 NBA season is to keep LOSING games. It explains the starting lineup they have settled on… and the lack of heavy substitutions when they are struggling… and the virtual silence of the Rockets in trade chatter.  These Houston Rockets want only to develop a few of the young players with excessive playing time… AND, most importantly, to land the #1 or #2 pick in the NBA Draft Lottery.  If they land the #1 pick they will draft a Center and trade a Center on draft day… If they land the #2 pick the will draft a PG and trade a PG on draft day.  The draft is the only goal for Houston.  The Golden State Warriors have the opposite goal… they want to WIN as many games as they can… They want yet another Championship to go with the one they got last season…. And the 3 others they got with Steph, Klay, and Draymond a few seasons ago. They want to fully revive the “dynasty”... but they have not been quite there yet.  They are more of a middle of the pack team with a trio of Hall of Famers in decline (except their best Hall of Famer). A big part of the Warriors problem has been a lack of development of the “young stars”... plus a salary cap tax payment that is bigger than any tax payment made in league history and larger than most NBA teams actual salary cap on its own.  Winning will happen or a big move is coming.

The Houston Rockets won a shocker in their last game to the Phoenix Suns 122-121.  Yes it was the Suns without Chris Paul, but still the results were a shocking reminder that big spreads do not automatically mean a win on any night in the NBA.  The young Rockets not only covered an 11.5 spread… They won the dang game!!  In the win SG Jalen Green had 30 points… much of it pulled down at the foul line (12-16).  5 other kids landed in double figures… It was an entire game where the defense was thrown out the window and pushing the tempo became the name of the game. Bruno Fernando shocked the Suns by coming off the Rockets bench for 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist in 13 ½ minutes of play.  The win ultimately belonged to Bruno and he only averages 13 minutes a night.  It also clearly displays that the Rockets are hiding guys that could help them win more games in favor of getting reps for teenagers that represent the future when paired with C Victor Wembenyama or PG Scoot Jackson.

The Golden State Warriors have won 4 of their last 5 games.  They won the last one over the Chicago Bulls 119-111… it was also a win against a 7 point spread.  In that game the Warriors got to display the wealth of shooting prowess as SG Klay Thompson had 26 points on bad shooting and 6th man, combo guard Jordan Poole had 30 points on very good shooting.  PG Steph Curry had only 19 points but added 11 rebounds and 6 assists.  When Curry has double digit rebounds… the chance of beating the Warriors is almost nil… It literally means that the Warriors were landing most of those long bounces from the rim that become “loose balls”.  PF Draymond Green again went about the nuts and bolts work of winning basketball as he had 12 pts, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists.  Winning basketball is found in places other than getting 20 points a game… It’s about having guys who will do ALL OF IT.  Draymond is one of the best of all time at DOING ALL OF IT.

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HOU: 6-16, 12-10 ATS, 12-10 O/U, 3-11 in road games

GSW: 12-11, 10-13 ATS, 13-8-2 O/U, 10-1 in home games.

Our prediction for Saturday, November 3rd is….  Warriors 120 - Rockets 99

The Rockets have yet to show an ability to follow a win with a win.  Bet on the Warriors as the Rockets are destined to hit a low after every high all season long.

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The Warriors are 2-1 ATS versus Houston at Golden State the last 3 seasons.

The Warriors are 51-30 ATS as a home favorite the last 3 seasons.

Rockets: SF Eric Gordon.  It always feels like veteran Eric Gordon is being held hostage by his large contract to a bad team.  He is a good scorer who plays subpar defense… That has always been the case.  He may be on the block at the trade deadline if a contender has any injuries in the 2 guard or small forward spot.  A big part of the Rockets consistent losing is that they play undersized Eric Gordon out of his natural shooting guard spot and have installed him at the Small Forward… emphasis on small.

Warriors: PF Draymond Green.  These are the types of games that Draymond relishes.  He is going to put his veteran savvy up against the exceptional athleticism of youth on the Rockets roster… Draymond should excel as he will always be in the right spot defensively and his bag of tricks will all work against the kids.

Rockets: Stephen “famous last name” Silas

Warriors: Steve “all the rings” Kerr